As a child I always knew that one day I would teach. My mother taught for 17 years and quite frankly, school seemed like another home to me. School was a comfortable environment that I never wanted to grow out of. Years passed, and before long, I was soaring through college pursuing the dream that would soon become a reality. During these trying years in college, I participated in many school visits across many types of secondary schools in Rhode Island. These experiences caused my outlook on teaching to come to a screeching halt. Teaching was not the glitter-and –glue stick profession that I had thought it was for so long. Teaching is not about the teacher at all. It is not about waking up every morning with students who are bright eyed and bushy tailed who are eager to learn, and fill your heart with satisfaction and joy. Rather, teaching is about the students. It is about their individual struggles with education and life beyond the walls that shelter them from 8am to 2pm. Many students that I have met over the past three years have nearly given up on their education. After running into dead-ends time after time, they forfeited their struggle. They felt helpless, as if they had no control over their grades or their future. Many viewed the teacher as an “all-powerful grade wielder” that handed out grades at will without rhyme or reason. This outlook was shared among many students and had been derived over years of their personal perceived rejections. This is a challenge for teachers in schools where students like these hold the majority. Teachers need to prepare for the journey that lies ahead. This journey is one that travels into the depths of dozens of hearts that may have already given up hope. It is one that is to be made by those who are confident, strong, and driven. The goals of this journey may be slightly different for every teacher. Mine are simple: I make my journey in hopes that I will find the curiosity that is lodged deep in every student and carry it to the forefront of their minds. I hope to enable students to allow their curiosities to inspire them and drive them to WANT to learn more. Although I lack the confidence in knowing all that there is to know about science, I am filled with the confidence that I need to teach. My purpose and my will drive me. I am confident that I can help at least a few students to find the passion of learning once more.
During these trying years in college, I participated in many school visits across many types of secondary schools in Rhode Island. These experiences caused my outlook on teaching to come to a screeching halt. Teaching was not the glitter-and –glue stick profession that I had thought it was for so long. Teaching is not about the teacher at all. It is not about waking up every morning with students who are bright eyed and bushy tailed who are eager to learn, and fill your heart with satisfaction and joy.
Rather, teaching is about the students. It is about their individual struggles with education and life beyond the walls that shelter them from 8am to 2pm. Many students that I have met over the past three years have nearly given up on their education. After running into dead-ends time after time, they forfeited their struggle. They felt helpless, as if they had no control over their grades or their future. Many viewed the teacher as an “all-powerful grade wielder” that handed out grades at will without rhyme or reason. This outlook was shared among many students and had been derived over years of their personal perceived rejections.
This is a challenge for teachers in schools where students like these hold the majority. Teachers need to prepare for the journey that lies ahead. This journey is one that travels into the depths of dozens of hearts that may have already given up hope. It is one that is to be made by those who are confident, strong, and driven. The goals of this journey may be slightly different for every teacher. Mine are simple: I make my journey in hopes that I will find the curiosity that is lodged deep in every student and carry it to the forefront of their minds. I hope to enable students to allow their curiosities to inspire them and drive them to WANT to learn more.
Although I lack the confidence in knowing all that there is to know about science, I am filled with the confidence that I need to teach. My purpose and my will drive me. I am confident that I can help at least a few students to find the passion of learning once more.